Report: Gender Matters When Buying A Home

Are homebuyers looking for brand-new buys?  Or, are fixer-uppers the way to go?  According to the 2011 TD Canada Trust Home Buyers Report that decision may depend on your gender.


Mobile Mortgage Specialist Barry Rathburn says some people just don't want to take a chance.  "I found women tend to be more conservative than men... less willing to take a risk.  Most men are renovators at heart; they can see where they can change things to make a lifestyle situation out of the house."

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Unlicensed Mortgage Brokers Get The Boot

With interest rates and house prices at historic lows, it is the perfect time to buy a home.

But before a purchase is made, a bank loan officer or a mortgage broker has to approve a home loan for the buyer.

Bank of Utah Chief Financial Officer Branden Hansen cautions prospective buyers to make sure the person they are dealing with is reputable.

"As a bank and being involved with the mortgage industry," Hansen said, "we had to compete with a lot of people we feel are less than scrupulous."

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Before Shopping For A Place, Check Financial Readiness

You might be ready to buy a home, but are you armed with the knowledge you need? Do you know about credit score requirements? Are you familiar with flexible standards on Federal Housing Administration loans?

Whether you are a first-time homebuyer or an experienced owner, buying a house requires a "preflight check," in the words of Barry Zigas, director of housing policy for the Consumer Federation of America. "It's a brave, new world with respect to credit requirements for mortgages," says John Ulzheimer, founder of 2StepCredit.com and formerly of FICO, which pioneered credit scoring.

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Pros and Cons of Refinancing Appraisal

Many homeowners want to refinance their home loans in order to take advantage of lower mortgage rates. Before a loan is approved, however, the borrower likely will be asked to order a professional appraisal to assess the value of the property.

Even though appraisals are common, not everyone needs one to refinance a home, says Carolyn Warren, author of the book "Homebuyers Beware." That's because lenders sometimes participate in plans that allow eligible homeowners to skip the independent valuation, she says.

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Short Sales Becoming More Attractive To Servicers As Foreclosure Expenses Rise

Offering a 10 percent recovery advantage compared to foreclosures, short-sales are becoming a popular solution for servicers faced with projected steeper loss severities on mortgage-backed securities  in 2011. Short-sales are especially attractive as the unprecedented lag between the last payment and a foreclosure is expected to grow. See the following article from HousingWire for more on this.

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5 FHA Streamline Facts You Need to Know

The benefits of an FHA Streamline loan are going to be discussed in the following article. Anyone with an FHA loan that wants to reduce their monthly payment is going to want to see these facts.

1. Who qualifies for an FHA streamline loan?

• Home owners that currently have an FHA loan.
• Must have the loan for 6 months or longer.
• No delinquencies on the mortgage in the last 12 months.

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Homeowners Say Loan Mods Led Them To Foreclosure

Grocery store owners William and Esperanza Casco were making enough money to stay current on their mortgage, but when JPMorgan Chase & Co. offered a plan that reduced their payments, they figured they could use the extra cash and signed up.
The Cascos say they never missed a subsequent payment, so they were horrified when the bank decided the smaller payments weren't enough and foreclosed on their modest Long Beach home.
Their story is echoed across the country by people who claim — some in lawsuits — that banks didn't live up to their end of the deal when they agreed to trial mortgage modifications.

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Lenders Skirt Foreclosure Rules

At least 55 Franklin County homeowners will lose their houses at an auction Friday despite the fact that their foreclosure cases appear to contain mistakes, omissions of critical evidence or questionable affidavits, The Dispatch found in a review of court documents.

The newspaper examined the files of more than 130 homeowners whose houses are slated for auction Friday. Half of the cases had issues that consumer advocates call troubling and should have raised red flags before a judge ordered the homes sold.

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How to Negotiate When Buying a Home

The dream of home ownership is one that plagues many adults. Paying into a rental, month after month, may be cheaper in the short term, but over the long haul you can begin to feel like you’re simply flushing money down the toilet that could be going towards an investment in your future. But buying a home is no easy feat. Somewhere between the home you want and the loan you can get is a house that is right for you (or at least for right now), and it can be very tricky to navigate the shark-infested waters of the housing market. First, there are the previous owners, who no doubt want to get as much value from their home as possible. Then there are real estate agents, who may tell you just about anything in order to get a commission (except for Martin Vaughn). And of course, you will have to deal with loan agents, who must look out for the best interest of their lending institution (not to mention whatever kind of bonus they’ll be getting). In short, it pays to know what you’re up against and actively pursue finding out everything you can before you enter negotiations.

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Fed Adopts New Mortgage Rules to Protect Consumers

The Federal Reserve adopted new standards that ban yield spread premiums on mortgages, a practice that critics say led to homebuyers being saddled with unfairly high mortgage rates.

The premiums involve lenders paying a bonus to mortgage brokers who brought them customers willing to pay high-interest rates on loans, The New York Times reported. Critics say this practice led to brokers forcing high-interest loans on borrowers, telling them it was the best deal they could get.

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Obama Signs Bill Eliminating HVCC

When President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act this week to reform the financial markets, the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) was officially set for elimination in 90 days.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) implemented HVCC in May 2009 in an attempt to improve the independence of appraisers by prohibiting lenders and third parties from influencing appraisals. It’s a controversial regulation, leading to an increase in demand for appraisal management companies (AMCs) and complaints from independent appraisers who claim they’re being cut out of the market.

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Mortgages After Financial Reform: 5 Ways They’ll Change

The financial reform law includes tough new mortgage regulations, to stop the deceptions (and self-deceptions) that have driven millions of homeowners into foreclosure. Here’s how the market will change in 12 to 18 months, when the new rules start to take effect:

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How Financial Reform Could Affect You

Once signed into law by President Barack Obama, how will the new financial reforms of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act affect consumers?

One of the most prominent features of the bill is the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau within the Federal Reserve. Its mission will be to oversee consumer financial products offered by banks, mortgage companies, credit cards, debt-settlement firms, loan providers and payday lenders. It will have the authority to craft regulations, launch investigations and act on consumer complaints. The following is a sample of other ways the bill may—or may not—act on average Americans.

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Selling A Condo? Better Hope It's On The 'Approved' List

Question: I own an apartment in a condominium development that I am trying to sell. I have a potential buyer who wants to use an FHA loan because of its low down-payment requirements, but he says my project is not on FHA's "approved" list. That strikes me as somewhat discriminatory, so my question is, does the FHA have such a list? And if it does, how come my condo isn't on it and how does it get on it? Thanks. W.F.

Answer: The Federal Housing Administration does indeed maintain a roster of approved condominium and townhome associations. Because of new rules which went into effect in February, if your development does not appear on the FHA's roster, your potential buyer will not be able to use an FHA-insured mortgage to purchase your unit.

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The Unique Advantages Of VA Mortgages

There was a time when Veterans Administration (VA) loans were so time-consuming to obtain that lenders did not want to process them and home sellers were likely to reject offers from buyers planning to finance with VA loans. Thanks to changes in the system, it has become much easier to take advantage of the unique benefits offered by VA loans.

VA loans are offered through the Veterans Administration, a U.S. government organization that provides benefits and services to eligible veterans, active duty, reservists and National Guard members along with their families. While the VA does encourage lenders to offer these loans by guaranteeing to repay a significant percentage of any loan that goes into default, VA loans are actually made by private lenders, not by the VA itself. This means that the lender, not the VA, determines whether a borrower is eligible for a loan and what loan terms the borrower qualifies for. As such, it's still important to shop around for the best deal on a VA mortgage.

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Congress Considers Mandate on 5% Minimum Down Payments

Some Republican lawmakers are calling for the Senate’s financial-overhaul bill to include specific mortgage standards that originators would be required to meet when underwriting home loans.

In exchange, they want to dump from the current legislation the “skin in the game” rules that would require banks that package loans into securities to hold a portion on their balance sheet.

Under the amendment, proposed by Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), Congress would set minimum down payments of 5%. Mortgage originators and investors who buy loans in the secondary market would also have to adhere to other standards including, documentation of a borrower’s income and assets and certain metrics to determine that borrowers were able to repay their loans.

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Education Key When Considering Home Ownership

Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions and commitments one will ever make, yet many people are not nearly as familiar with the ins and outs of the mortgage process as they are with their favorite TV show or sports team. Taking time to become educated on the subject will go a long way in easing the stress of buying a home and preparing for the responsibilities of home ownership.

"Low rates, combined with stabilizing home prices, are creating buying opportunities for those who qualify," says Michael Copley, retail lending senior vice president of TD Bank. "But before you buy, do as much research as possible - research lenders, know the products and make sure you understand the costs associated with home ownership."

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Mortgage Fraud: Understanding And Avoiding It

Ethical violations and criminal activities in various industries have affected our economy over the past few decades, particularly in the banking, financial and housing sectors. In this article we examine the complex ethical and criminal issues surrounding mortgage fraud. Fraud in its simplest form is deliberate misrepresentation and deception. Fraud in action means that one deceives another by misrepresenting information, facts and figures.

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